Dr. Jean Berlie has recently released a book titled “China’s Globalization and the Belt and Road Initiative”. In this lecture he will detail the context and ramifications of the Belt and Road Initiative. The book concerns globalization and the Belt and Road, also called the modern Silk Road. The name Silk Road is ancient and continues to be very attractive with 2000 years of history.

The term globalization has a long history but came late into fashion in the 1980s. The Western empires succeeded to develop trade and economic exchanges, culture and education, which were also part of the colonial discourse. At present globalization is much more global and started in 2013.

For China, globalization is implicitly linked with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which starts in Central Asia, the pivot of Asia. The new globalization is different from the ancient Silk Road mainly concerned by trade. The Belt and Road Initiative, or modern Silk Road, includes policy coordination, infrastructure, mobility and connectivity, cultural exchanges, tourism, cooperation, financial investment and trade.

The opportunities and risks of the modern Silk Road, Land and Sea, will be detailed.

The Speaker

Dr. Jean Berlie has taught at Lingnan University in Hong Kong and was a visiting Professor at Jinan University in Guangzhou. He is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Center for Greater China Studies of the Hong Kong Institute of Education, and a researcher at the Centre of Asian Studies of the University of Hong Kong.

He has written to and contributed to multiple books on multiple subjects, including: 

- (ed.) China’s Globalization and the Belt and Road Initiative. Palgrave Macmillan, 2019.

- East Timor Independence, ASEAN and Indonesia. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.

- The Chinese of Macau a Decade after the Handover. Hong Kong: Proverse, 2012. 

- The Burmanization of Myanmar’s Muslims, Bangkok: White Lotus, 2008.

- Islam in China, Bangkok: White Lotus, 2004.(ed.)

- Macao 2000. Oxford University Press, 1999.

This lecture has been postponed to a later date.

Time: Reception opens 6:30 p.m. Lecture starts at 7:00 p.m.

Admission: RAS Members $150; Non-Members / Guests $200

Booking: Please email membership@royalasiaticsociety.org.hk in advance to reserve your place and pay at the door